iSAM Funds UK Ltd Trims Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 68.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 960 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,082 shares during the quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley Forge Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Moody’s by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley Forge Capital Management LP now owns 1,314,144 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $622,076,000 after purchasing an additional 25,700 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 5,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,533,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 109.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 1,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Square Wave Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,710,000. Finally, Texas Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $473,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $486.60 on Wednesday. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $451.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $472.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.87.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Services. The Moody’s Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.